A Hopeful Heart (11 page)

“Okay.
Danki.
” Hannah stood and straightened the canisters on the counter while Amanda disappeared
into the mudroom. She looked out the kitchen window above the sink and spotted Amanda
crossing to the pasture. While she contemplated her conversation with Amanda, Hannah
wondered if her daughter was sharing everything that was going through her mind. Amanda
was never the child who worried since Lillian did enough worrying for the both of
them.

H
annah hummed as she put fresh sheets on a king-size bed in a hotel suite. She’d managed
to avoid running into Trey during the past couple of weeks, which was both a relief
and a disappointment. She was relieved to not have to make conversation after their
last uncomfortable meeting, but she felt disappointment at not seeing him to at least
say hello. She missed him. He filled her every thought during the day and her dreams
at night. She felt as if a piece of her heart were missing since she stopped seeing
him. She wished she could erase the heartache, but it lingered in her mind as well
as in her heart, like a dull headache.

Hannah knew Trey was still staying in the hotel since his belongings were in the room
when she cleaned it a couple of days ago. She longed to ask him how his life had changed
during the past two weeks. Was he ready to put in a contract on a home? Was he preparing
to move?

After wiping the bathroom counter, Hannah moved to the bedroom area and began dusting.
She thought she heard someone calling her name, and she stopped to listen. When she
heard it a second time, she rushed to the doorway and found Carolyn running down the
hallway toward the room.

“Hannah!” Carolyn paused to catch her breath and then grabbed Hannah’s hand. “You
need to come downstairs now. There’s a phone call for you.”

“Who’s on the phone?”

“It’s Lily.” She pointed toward the elevators. “Go now.”

Her children never called her at work—except for an emergency. Hannah’s heart beat
doubletime. “
Ach
no.”

“Go on. I’ll finish the room.” Carolyn nudged Hannah toward the door. “Go now.”

Hannah rushed to the elevator. The short ride to the first floor felt like a lifetime
while horrible scenarios ran through her head. She wondered if someone was ill or
hurt.
Oh no, what if it’s worse news?

She hurried through the lobby to where Stacey Bradley, the young woman who ran the
front desk, stood helping a hotel guest.

Stacey nodded at Hannah. “There’s a phone call for you on line four.” She motioned
toward the office behind her. “You may take it in there.”

“Thank you.” Hannah made her way into the room and picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“
Mamm!
” Lillian’s voice wavered on the phone. “Andrew’s hurt. He’s hurt badly.”

“Oh no.” Hannah sank into the large leather chair behind the desk. “What happened?”

“He fell while he was playing around in the barn, and he’s bleeding badly. There’s
blood everywhere.”

Hannah’s heart stopped and her blood ran cold. “What do you mean? Where is there blood,
Lillian?”

“On his head and his face. It’s all over. I’m not certain where he was cut.” A choked
sob rang through the phone.

Tears filled Hannah’s eyes. “Where is he?”

“
Onkel
Josh carried him into the house, and Daniel ran across the street to get the veterinarian.
Then I ran out here to call you.” She sniffed, and her voice shook again. “
Mammi
came by to see us and she’s sitting with him now.”

Hannah’s heart pounded against her rib cage. She needed to get home right away. She
had to make sure Andrew would be all right. “I’ll find a way home. Phyllis told me
she had some other rides to give today, so I don’t know if she can make it.” Her thoughts
churned with a way to find a ride to her farm. “I can ask Stacey to check the bus
schedule on the computer too. I’ll find a way to get home, Lily. You just sit tight.
Tell Andrew I’m on my way.”

“
Dummle!
Bye,
Mamm.
”

Hannah dropped the phone into the cradle and then stepped out to the front desk. “Stacey,
can you please help me?” Her voice trembled with worry.

“Sure, Hannah.” She pushed a lock of blond hair behind her ear. “What do you need?”

“One of my children is injured, and I need to get home right away.” Hannah wrung her
hands as she spoke. “Can you possibly see if there’s a bus schedule on the Internet?
I need to see if there’s a bus coming by soon.”

“I can give you a ride,” a familiar voice said.

Hannah turned and found Trey standing by the counter. His face was filled with concern.
“I can give you a ride, Hannah.”

“Mr. Peterson.” She hesitated for a brief moment and then thought of Andrew. She needed
to get home
now.
Lillian’s voice had quaked with fear, which was unlike her brave and confident Lillian.
Something was definitely wrong with her youngest
child, and she needed to get there as soon as possible. “Let me grab my bag.”

She retrieved her bag from the workroom behind the office and then hurried out to
where Trey waited at the front door. “Stacey, would you please tell Gregg that my
son’s hurt and I had to go home?”

Stacey nodded. “Absolutely. Don’t worry about a thing. I hope your son is okay.”

“Thank you.” Hannah hefted her tote bag up on her shoulder and rushed out to the car
behind Trey. She buckled the seat belt and then silently prayed.

Lord, please heal Andrew. Let his injury be minor. Please don’t take him from me.
I know your will is always the best, but please, Lord, spare
mei kind.
I can’t bear the thought of losing one of my precious
kinner.
Amen.

The car jolted forward and Hannah opened her eyes. She hugged her tote bag to her
chest.

“What happened?” Trey kept his eyes on the road.

“Lillian called me. Andrew fell and it sounds like he’s hurt badly. She said there
was blood everywhere.” She prayed her daughter was exaggerating, but from the sound
of Lillian’s voice, the situation seemed bleak. Her heart lurched in her chest.

“Oh no.” He grimaced and tapped the steering wheel. “Do you want to take him to the
hospital?”

Hannah shook her head. “I don’t know. I just keep worrying that something awful is
going to happen.” She sucked in a breath. She didn’t want to cry in front of him.
She had to be strong.

“I’ll get you there as fast as I can.” He navigated around a curve.

Hannah gripped her tote bag and continued to pray during the ride to her house. When
they arrived, she leapt from the car and rushed into the house with Trey following
close behind her.

“Lillian!” Hannah dropped her bag on the kitchen table and hurried toward the stairs.
“Lillian?”

“We’re in your room.” Lillian’s voice sounded from down the hall.

“I’ll wait here.” Trey stood in the doorway and studied her.

“Thank you.” Hannah rushed to her bedroom and found Andrew lying on top of several
towels in the middle of her bed. Bloody rags covered the floor and blood stained his
dark blue shirt. The sight of the blood caused her to shiver.

Cameron Wood, the veterinarian who lived across the street, leaned over Andrew while
applying a butterfly bandage. Lillian, Barbie, Josh, and Daniel all looked on.

“Andrew!” Hannah moved to his side, her heart thumping in her chest. “Are you all
right?”

Her son shrugged and his lip quivered. “I’m okay,
Mamm.
”

“He’ll be just fine, Mrs. Glick.” Cameron patted Andrew’s shoulder. “It looks much
worse than it really is. He has a deep cut above his eye, but I don’t think he needs
stitches. Thank goodness he didn’t hit that shovel any lower or he would’ve hurt his
eye.”

Hannah touched Andrew’s hand. “What happened?”

“I was fooling around with
Onkel
Josh, and I tripped. It was an accident.” Tears filled her son’s eyes.

Hannah squeezed his hand. “I was so worried.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.” Andrew’s voice was soft and shaky.

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m just relieved you’re okay.” Hannah turned to the
veterinarian. “Thank you for coming over to help us.”

“You’re welcome.” Cameron picked up a small bag. “I’m glad I was around to help. I
had just returned from an appointment across town. I’m going to head home, but please
call me anytime you need help.” He nodded at Lillian and Barbie before leaving the
bedroom.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Andrew,” Josh said. “Come on, Daniel, let’s get back to work.”

As Josh and Daniel left, Barbie frowned at Hannah. “I’m glad you made it home. It
was terrible. You wouldn’t believe the blood everywhere. Lillian and I cleaned it
all up, except for his clothes and these towels.”

“I got here as soon as I could.” Hannah touched Andrew’s arm and studied his face.
She spotted a bruise forming near the butterfly bandage. “It looks like you really
injured yourself. Does it hurt?”

Andrew grimaced. “
Ya
, my head hurts,
Mamm
.”

“We’ll give you some Tylenol.” Hannah smiled at him despite the worry still coursing
through her.
What if the injury had been worse?
She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her children.

“I had to call you.” Lillian’s eyes filled with tears. “I was just so worried something
bad would happen. We never expected to lose
Dat
like we did.” A single tear trickled down her cheek.

“It’s okay.” Hannah hugged Lillian while trying to hold back her own tears. “I told
you that you can call me if you have an emergency. You did the right thing. You can
always call me if you feel uncomfortable. I’ll never scold you for worrying about
your
bruder.
”

“Okay.” Lillian nodded and rubbed her fingers under her glasses to wipe her tears.

“She wouldn’t have to call you if you were here, which is where you
should
be.” Barbie’s words were sharp.

Hannah frowned at her mother-in-law as frustration boiled inside of her. “Please don’t
make this worse. We’re all upset Andrew was hurt.”

“I’m not making this worse.” Barbie raised her eyebrows. “I think you’re wrong to
leave Lillian in charge of things while you flitter around a fancy hotel like an
Englisher.
”

“Lillian is not here alone. Joshua and Daniel King are working on the farm. She can
always go to them if she needs help.”

“That’s not the same as having their
mamm
at home where she belongs.”

Hannah sucked in a breath and paused. “We will talk about this later. Not in front
of the
kinner.
” She looked at Andrew. “Do you need anything? Maybe a glass of water?”

Andrew nodded. “
Ya
. Water please.”

Lillian stood. “I’ll go get him some water and Tylenol.”

“
Danki.
” Hannah gestured toward the door. “I need to call Phyllis and tell her I don’t need
a ride home today. I’ll be right back.”

“Did you take the bus?” Lillian asked.

“No, I got a ride.” Hannah started for the doorway. Lillian followed her out to the
kitchen.

Trey stood in the doorway to the mudroom and asked, “How is he?”

Hannah forced a smile. “He’s going to be fine. He has a gash above his eye, but it’s
not serious.”

“I’m so glad.” Trey returned the smile. “I know you were worried.”

Lillian looked at Trey and turned to Hannah with her eyes wide.

Hannah touched Lillian’s arm. “Trey gave me a ride.” She paused, realizing that she’d
said his first name out loud. She was stunned by how natural it sounded to say his
first name. It was as if being his close friend felt right. She cleared her throat
before speaking. “He walked by while I was at the front desk trying to figure out
what to do because Phyllis mentioned she had plans this afternoon.” She started for
the door. “I’m going to walk Trey out and then call Phyllis. I’ll be right back in,
okay?”

Lillian nodded. Hannah could tell by her daughter’s surprised expression that she
was shocked to see Trey again.

Hannah followed Trey outside. It barely registered that Joshua was out in the pasture
with Daniel. When they reached Trey’s car, they stood together by the driver’s side
door.

He looked down at her. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

“I was so worried I was going to lose him like I lost Gideon.” Hannah’s eyes filled
with tears. All of the worry she’d held in since Lillian’s phone call poured out of
her like a waterfall. She couldn’t stop the sobs shaking her body and the tears spilling
from her eyes. “There was so much blood, Trey. I couldn’t believe it. There was blood
all over his clothes and in his hair. And there were towels all over the bed and rags
on the floor covered in his blood too.”

“Hey. It’s okay.” Trey wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

At first she was shocked by the hug. But then instead of pushing him away, Hannah
snuggled into the warmth of his arms. She realized then that forgetting about Trey
would be impossible. He was etched in her mind forever. And she needed him like she
needed air to breathe.

“Andrew will be fine.” His voice was soft and his breath was warm in her ear, like
a summer breeze.

Hannah inhaled deeply, and her body relaxed as her sobs dissipated. She breathed in
the spicy scent of his aftershave and laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you,”
she whispered while enjoying the comfort of his arms. She felt warm and safe, and
she wanted the feeling to last forever.

“You don’t have to thank me.” He rested his cheek on her head.

“
Ya
, I do. I’m so glad you came by today. I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he repeated the words with more emphasis. “I helped
you for purely selfish reasons.”

She looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“I missed you.” His dark eyes studied her with an intensity that caused her pulse
to skip a beat. “I missed you
a lot.
”

She swiped her hand across her tear-soaked cheeks. “I missed you too.”

“It’s been torture to not be able to talk to you. I have so much I want to tell you.”
He took her hand in his, and his skin was warm and smooth. “I found a church I really
like, and I think I’m going to make an offer on one of the houses I looked at. It
reminds me of your place and also of my grandparents’ farm.”